JackMorris

Our band has just started and at the moment, we've been using a rock band mic (you know, the one you get with that guitar hero like game) to record things. Surprisingly, the audio is actually not to bad for a mic you can buy for £5! But naturally, upgrading is coming around.

Since we're kind of on a budget, we were looking at other usb mics. I know that buying an interface, some SM57 and a set of drum mics and a mixer would give us a far greater sound, but until we have enough money for all of that we're looking for cheaper alternatives.

So, what are the main disadvantages of usb mics? Would anyone actually recomend them at all? And if so, any good ones? I have a budget of around £50, maybe a bit more if needed.

Thanks everyone!

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richyt93

ROCKBAND MICS FOR RECORDING DRUMS ALL THE WAY!
Its what me and my band do, and its epic
but some of the disadvantages of it are that you cant hook it up to a PA, which is annoying lol

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leony03

LOOOL iv never heard that before xD

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MikeHYA

do you just plug and play the rock band mic??

JackMorris

Yep, straight in to audacity. It's surprising to say the least!

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XgustofX

Haha that's what I used to use too!

JackMorris

I never knew so many people used them (:

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moody07747

I think it comes down to people wanting to record on a very low budget......I never understood doing this myself but hey, whatever makes them happy so they don't come to the forums all day and complain/ask questions on what gear to buy...

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sykguitaryst

duuuude, i use the rockband mic for all my recording too, rofl its not horrible, it gets the job done really good actually... i know of stuff thatll make using that sound better.. i built a compressor unto my rb mic so theres no "puhhhhh or buhhhhh" sounds, whenever im done recordin on audacity ill throw a high pass filter on and save as a wav.. when im done with that i throw my shit in FL on a compressor and turn the volume down on the mixer until the vocals are as loud as the beat or whatever... comes out almost professional lol (NO CLICKS OR PUFFS). id do some research on some other mics and work out some shit thatll make your rb mic sound good enough to hang onto until you get the dough for somethin significantly better.

whew. ok that is all lol. good luck!

FLAgatorsLP

I've been using a RB mic for the past year. It does get the job done.
Just on Friday though, I purchased a nice interface, condenser mic, and popper stopper. Definitely worth the upgrade if you're wanting to get serious about your recordings.

JackMorris

What interface did you buy? Just interested.

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Eggmond

t bone mb88u dual usb/xlr mic.about £30 from thomann.pretty good sound for a usb

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JackMorris

Do you have any examples of sound? That seems like a good price

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Eggmond

the song on my profile was recorded using an ibanez rg350 through a very crappy 20 watt epiphone amp using the mic

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swarley

I have a Blue Snowball USB, and while it does well enough recording acoustic stuff, I'm not sure how good it would actually be in a full band setting.

Enolracmada

Wow, thats so ghetto. Even when I first started to record, I never considered useing a usb mic. But whatever, If your spending that little your not going to get that much quality out of whatever you buy... however, I think anything would be an upgrade from a mic ment for playing videogames.

sandyman323

here's MY problem with USB mics. (sense i've only seen 1 or 2 real answers to your question...) you're spending money on them now, but have no way at all to upgrade your setup later without starting completely over. so instead of waiting a little longer to spend money at one time, you're spending it twice, paying more and not getting any further than you would if you waited.

plus, your number of mics is limited to the number of USB ports on your computer. you could pick up an interface with however many inputs you needed, which would make recording drums a piece of cake.

the A/D conversion in those things is not as good as you'll get in an interface.

will it sound better than a rockband mic? yes. will it get you at least SOMETHING to record decent quality with? yes. will it screw you over in the long run when you want to upgrade?(which you will if your ears are worth anything...) yes.

FLAgatorsLP

A Tascam US-144 MKII. Haven't had the chance the use it to much but it's great so far. $150. It's the only one I've ever used so my knowledge is limited but I reccomend it so far, haha.

Mowall

I found that if you play the game Rockband on a PS2 with a USB mic and the song you just finished singing ends you can sing through the mic and your voice will still be heard through your tv speakers until you proceed with the game. You can listen to your voice with no background music for as long as you want, if I'm not mistaken. If you somehow connect a PS2, or probably any other gaming system, into a PA then you might be able to send any USB mic into the PA.